The biggest downfall for Smith Voc. was its special teams play, and the Hornets (3-0, 3-0 Tri-County) took full advantage. McCann Tech blocked two punts, returning one for a touchdown, returned a punt for another touchdown and returned a safety free kick for yet another.

The Vikings had multiple opportunities to tackle on special teams, but an inability to wrap up the Hornets in the open field cost them, said head coach Jeff Peterson.

“What’s killing us is open-field tackling," Peterson said. "We try to do it all the time and it’s one of the hardest thing in sports to do – open-field tackling. And that’s just something that comes with experience. They don’t break down, they don’t take good routes. That’s just where we are right now. But the kids don’t quit."

The problems started right away for Peterson's squad when they couldn't do anything with a fumble recovery deep in their own end. McCann Tech went on to tackle Smith Voc. in the end zone for a safety and an early 2-0 lead. On the ensuing kickoff, Dylan Darling returned it for a safety free kick touchdown. Darling went on to score the next touchdown on a 2-yard run and finished with 45 yards on the ground to go with his two touchdowns.

The Hornets spread the wealth in the second quarter as four different players scored. Two came on special teams, including a 31-yard punt return for Christian Montoya after he blocked his second punt of the night. Levi Lawson closed out the scoring with a 64-yard punt return. The other two touchdowns came from Brett Pecor and Nick Lincoln. Billy Lincoln caught a 56-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter.

Smith Voc quarterback Sam Duffy had 13 rushing yards and a 16-yard completion to Cullen Pike in the second half.

Smith Voc. was much more effective moving the ball in the second, which had Peterson feeling positive after the game.

“Not jumping offsides," he said. "We’re not holding anybody. There’s no penalties. We’re playing good football. We just don’t know how to stick with blocks. It’s the little things.”

Overall, Peterson thinks that this was a more complete performance by his team, even if the final score didn't show it.

“We just wanted to play better than we did last week and we did," he said. "We played these guys tougher than we did Pathfinder last week. And I say this all the time, our kids don’t quit. We’re learning how to play football and I’m upbeat after today’s game.”